Rake's Progress
lightly armoured barbarians.
Description
Commonly crafted in the form of two wicked blades, these cruel weapons allow a skilled warrior to move quickly through a battle-line dispatching lightly armoured opponents. They have a bloody reputation thanks to their use by the more distasteful Free Companies of the League as a quick means to dispatch unarmed barbarians in large numbers, as well as their rivals at home, according to some rumours. Though many assume the name refers to these scoundrels, it actually derives from a Marcher saying that soldiers with these blades progressed through the enemies like a rake through fallen leaves.
The Kallavesi nickname these pairs Wing-Beats, likening the striking of two fierce blows to the spreading of a bird's wings. During forging, these blades are commonly quenched in blood, usually animal. A few have been cooled in human blood and these examples are believed to burn with a terrible bloodlust which slowly poisons any soul bonded to them. Some owners will only bond to these weapons for the day of the battle to prevent any ill-effects, while a few maintain a continuous bond and revel in the blades' subtle influence.
Rules
- Form: Weapon. A pair consisting of two one-handed weapons. You must be wielding both weapons to use the set's magical properties.
- Requirement: You must have the ambidexterity skill to bond to these items.
- Effect: Twice per day, when you use CLEAVE, you may use it on two targets instead of one. You have only 10 seconds to deliver the second CLEAVE.
- Materials: Crafting a set of Rake's Progress weapons requires eight ingots of orichalcum and three ingots of dragonbone. It takes one month to make a pair of these items.
"And don't think that sorcery's all in spells and potions. You can find it in the smithy too. Take a look at these. Look at those jagged edges. Nasty, eh? It's worse than you think. Take a look at them in the light. Aye, that's orichalcum and green iron too. See a shine like that and you expect something tricksy. Sure enough, one of these could slice you open. But just when you think the worst is done, the other one will slice open your mate as well, as soon as you can blink. You look sick, lasses and lads, and rightly so. And the worst part? They can do it again a minute later."
Transcript from the lessons of Quick Maggie, Thresher of Bregasland